Between 1988 and 1991—the “golden age of sampling”—innovative hip-hop producers such as the Bomb Squad, Prince Paul, and others transformed the rap album into an experimental, multilayered artform that exemplified the virtuosic conjuring culture of Black American art. KMD’s 1991 album Mr. Hood, the recorded debut of underground rap icon Daniel Dumile (MF DOOM), serves as a case study for this transformative era of hip-hop production. The album explores the Black teenage experience through the episodic journey of the mythic character “Mr. Hood” as he visits scenes of everyday Black experience: jewelry shop, barber shop, street preachers, etc. The sonic bricolage, composed of samples of pre-existing rap records, Black American pop records, children’s television shows, and KMD’s own rapping, establishes the surreal, satirical tone of the project. Pre-existing voice recordings are placed in dialogue with KMD’s performances, transforming their original meanings and contexts in cartoonish ways. The transformative nature of Mr. Hood and other golden age rap albums, their ability to conjure new worlds from existing sonic material, is part of a rich tradition of Black American expression.

Works: KMD (Daniel Dumile, Dingilizwe Dumile, and Alonzo Djihuti Hodge): Figure of Speech (411-12), Bananapeel Blues (411-12, 415), Mr. Hood at Piocalles Jewelry/Crackpot (413-15).

Sources: Malcolm X: Fire &Fury Grass Roots Speech (411-12); Pamplemousse: Monkey See Monkey Do (411-12); Eddie Floyd: Bring It on Home to Me (414-15), Hobo (414-15); Johnny Guitar Watson: Superman Lover (415); Bil Scott-Heron: H2O Gate Blues (415).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Matthew Van Vleet